Thinking Outside the Xbox

This article ran as part of our April Fool’s Series. It is not to be taken seriously in any possible way. Enjoy. 

Here at the Red Shirt Crew blog, we have friends all over the place: Dark Horse comics, Movie Bob, even at Microsoft.  If you’re like us, you’ve probably been wondering what Microsoft is planning to bring to the next generation of console gaming.  Sony has announced the PlayStation 4 and Nintendo has already given us the Wii U.  Our friend at Microsoft, who insists his name be kept secret, has let us in on Microsoft’s plans for what is tentatively being called the neXtbox.  For an exclusive look at the next big thing to come from Microsoft gaming, keep reading below.

From preliminary designs and concept reports, it appears the Microsoft neXtbox has taken it’s inspiration not only from Microsoft’s own Kinect, but also from Nintendo’s Wiimote, the PlayStation’s Move and the personal screen designs for both rival companies’ next gen console controller designs.  The console will come with goggles, which will act as heads-up display/user interface for the system’s games, and a pair of gloves, which will house the controls for the system.  Apparently, the system is built for a number of upcoming games including Fable 4, Ninja Gaiden 4, The Force Unleashed 3 and an unnamed Naruto game.

The new design will be usable with the Kinect to allow for backwards compatibility with games like the Dance Central series and The Gunstringer.  Additionally, Microsoft plans to release a program specifically designed so consumers can make use of the neXtbox, gloves, visor and Kinect in any combination for their own programs, following the great popularity of third party programming already seen by the Kinect.  The neXtbox will of course be backwards compatible for all non-Kinect Xbox games as well, which makes sense because who in their right mind would make a console that wasn’t backwards compatible?

The neXtbox is planned for release in November 2013, and will come in both Xbox black and Xbox 360 white.  The games listed above are just four of the ten games which are intended to be available upon release, however the other titles weren’t available to our friend inside Microsoft, so for now, they remain a surprise.  Just, don’t tell Microsoft we know about this.  I’m pretty sure Gates has ninjas/assassins.

Matthew Bryant, aka Baker Street Holmes, is majorly looking forward to the release of the neXtbox.  He’s hoping that one of the mystery games is Avatar: the Last Airbender or Avatar: Legend of Korra based.  You can follow him on Twitter at @BStreetHolmes or e-mail him at HMCrazySS@gmail.com.

Red Shirt Crew Podcast: HULKGAMECRIT

This week on the Red Shirt Crew Podcast, Clayton Donaldson, aka HULKGAMECRIT, joins the Crew to discuss the PS4, trying to make it in the Video Game Industry, the Pope stepping down, upcoming movies and game, and why he took on the Hulk’s personality. Check it out below.

Clayton Donaldson (@hulkgamecrit) was a mild mannered game designer until he was bit by a radioactive spider monkey from outer space. Now, he is a game designer/ smasher that occasionally writes for different sites across the web, including his own blog.

Doc Watson is one of three editors for the Red Shirt Crew.  Feel free to validate his internet existence by posting a comment or sending a tweet to @DocWatsonMD.

Matthew Bryant, aka Baker Street Holmes, is one of the three editors for the Red Shirt Crew.  You can follow him on Twitter at @BStreetHolmes or email him at HMCrazySS@gmail.com.

Jeni Hackett, aka Science Whyzard, enjoys writing about physics and space exploration and playing far too many Bioware games for her emotional well-being. You can find her on twitter under the name @allonsyjeni, email her at jeni.is.a.geek@gmail.com, or find her on tumblr at hellomynameisgeek.